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Topic: Cider from store bought juice (Read 8109 times)

I was talking to one of the guys who works at my local brew supply store about making a hard cider. He claimed that it was as simple as buying 5 gallons of preservative free juice, throwing in some brewers yeast and voila- hard cider (after fermentation, of course). So, I have now on hand 5 gallons of preservative free juice via Costco; champaign yeast and lots of left over honey from another project. Questions for the group:1. Is it that easy to make a tasty, sweet cider using his method?2. anyone have a recipe if not? 3. Has anyone incorporated honey into a cider recipe in lieu of any other sugars (this is an orange blossom honey).

The champagne yeast will make it really dry; I would think you're gonna end up backsweetening. I've used the Costco stuff, it's good juice, decent cider, I drop in 1 can of frozen juice concentrate just before serving (keg) and all the chicks dig it. I've never used good honey; just the Costco stuff. I would do a secondary with the honey, someone will be along shortly to tell you otherwise.

I've made many many gallons of Cider- all from store-bought juice. Mostly cold-processed Apple Cider in gallon jugs from Walmart but frozen concentrate has been used as well.

Each renders a different type of cider. The FC ends up much drier with a slight bit of sweetness. The CP based cider was a little tart and I ended up "back-sweetening" with a couple cans of FC per keg. This balanced it out and everyone's commented how good it is.

Otherwise in my experience Cider ferments out almost completely leaving very little sweetness. Stunning the yeast before it does so is a technique to retain sweetness.

I've found keeping the gravity at 1.050 will give a nice strength without alcohol heat. The CP cider just gets poured into the fermenters and yeast is pitched. The FC gets boiled to sterilize and then diluted to desired gravity. I think the concentrating process makes it a little sweeter.

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Also search OWWW my f##king head hurts I wish I was DEAD! I think they both lead you to the same recipe. Granted I've never aged it beyond three months - but anyone drinking this heavily is usually sorry the next day.

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Guys,I made the cider. It has been sitting in the primary fermenter for a couple of weeks now (BTW, I added about 2 C of orange blossom honey). It fermented on day 1 and finally stopped about a week ago. I opened the spigot and tried a small sample; it was harsh, I won't lie to you. I used a champaigne yeast; so it really reminded me of a dry wine. Also had subtle acetone flavors. Any ideas on how to salvage this- or does it just need to sit for a really long time? How about sweetening it? It won't be kegged- I'm not to that level yet!

I've made many many gallons of Cider- all from store-bought juice. Mostly cold-processed Apple Cider in gallon jugs from Walmart but frozen concentrate has been used as well.

Each renders a different type of cider. The FC ends up much drier with a slight bit of sweetness. The CP based cider was a little tart and I ended up "back-sweetening" with a couple cans of FC per keg. This balanced it out and everyone's commented how good it is.

Otherwise in my experience Cider ferments out almost completely leaving very little sweetness. Stunning the yeast before it does so is a technique to retain sweetness.

I've found keeping the gravity at 1.050 will give a nice strength without alcohol heat. The CP cider just gets poured into the fermenters and yeast is pitched. The FC gets boiled to sterilize and then diluted to desired gravity. I think the concentrating process makes it a little sweeter.

Nothing wrong with bottling and carbing it dry and sweetening it in the glass with a little more AJ or honey or sugar. My last, and best, cider was with no added sugar (an important factor, as all my previous stronger ciders or cysers had much less balanced flavor), was not backsweetened, but was very pleasant after being kegged, as is, after 3 months of bulk aging.

Since you strengthened yours, in my experience it will take some more time. Or you can just bottle it somewhat harsh and mix it with things that would sweeten it to taste.